The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is an innovative and highly successful approach to enhance interaction between mentally ill individuals, law enforcement and mental health agencies. The program was developed by the Memphis Police Department and has been adopted by many other major law enforcement agencies throughout the country.
The goal is to minimize the use of force, increase the safety of the officer and the individual on the street, and learn about available resources as needed in community policing. Development of this program in Santa Clara County is the result of a collaborative effort between the San Jose Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff, Santa Clara County Mental Health Department and NAMI. This intense forty hour CIT Academy requires the coordination of a group of professional instructors from Stanford, San Jose State, Santa Clara County Mental Health, the Veteran’s Hospital, various mental health contract agencies throughout the county and talented consumers and family members from NAMI. Over 800 officers and dispatchers have received CIT training. Current plans call for three San Jose Police Department and three Santa Clara County Sheriff academies each year.
To obtain additional information, please contact the NAMI office.
The Your State Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Program is a collaboration of professionals committed to assisting persons with behavioral health disorders (mental illness,developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease and addictive disease.
This collaboration includes local members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), mental health service providers family members, and law enforcement officers. The most important aspect of the CIT Program is the training provided to law enforcement